World: Indochina: The Rising Tide of War

ETCHED majestically against the endless green curtain of Cambodia's
jungle, the graceful colonnades and parapets of Angkor memorialize a
civilization that ruled most of Indochina nearly 1,000 years ago. Last
week, in the war that will determine Indochina's future rulers,
Vietnamese Communist troops occupied parts of the massive, ancient
complex, scattering storage areas, hospitals and military emplacements
near its statuary and intricately carved walls. For the first time
since 1431, when the forebears of modern Thailand pillaged Angkor, the
seat of Khmer culture was occupied by foreigners.

The Communist presence in the ruins of Angkor was symptomatic of the
war's tidal movement...